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I’ve implemented a personal policy to make it easier for myself and reduce bias: Full waiter experience (seated, handed menu, food brought to table, plate clea

I’ve implemented a personal policy to make it easier for myself and reduce bias: Full waiter experience (seated, handed menu, food brought to table, plate cleared) gets 20%. If the level of service is less than that, the percentage starts to go down proportionally. Counter service is flat-rate $1 per person served. This is the same every time regardless of quality of service (unless something truly malicious happens, but I’ve never experienced that.)

tptacek 4y ago
If the level of service declines below "full waiter experience", likely so too do the prices.
- pclmulqdq 4y ago
  And so should the tips. It makes no sense to tip someone who just hands you something from behind a counter.
  - tptacek 4y ago
    That's my point: as the price declines, so too does the amount you pay in tips.
    - pclmulqdq 4y ago
      I also think the proportion of the tip should decline. They are doing a lot less work to give you the food, disproportionate with the small decrease in cost.
      - tptacek 4y ago
        It's not clear to me why the proportion should decline alongside the price, since the decline in price also reduces compensation to the server, and a single prevailing tip rate is more convenient to consumers than a floating rate, but I don't care enough to make a stink about it.
- paraph1n 4y ago
  This is not generally true in my experience. You can buy cheap take-out/counter-service food, or expensive take-out/counter-service food.
- seizethecheese 4y ago
  There’s significant overlap between counter service and sit down restaurant prices. The front of house labor is not a massive proportion of restaurant cost.
- bcrosby95 4y ago
  Pretty much every place I've eaten at will do takeout. Back when I lived in SF, I ordered a $60 takeout steak dinner once or twice. I usually still tip for these because it's tying up the kitchen for the in-restaurant diners which might slow down the service for the staff. But not the full 20%.
delta_p_delta_x 4y ago
> Full waiter experience (seated, handed menu, food brought to table, plate cleared) gets 20%. I don't understand this. Why do you Americans tip for this? Isn't being seated, handed a menu, food brought to the table, and plates being cleared part of a waiter's job? Why does the customer have to 'reward' waiters for doing 'a good job'? Why do restaurants not just drop a flat 10% service/cover charge (it's 10% where I am) and be done with it?
- barbazoo 4y ago
  I think that would be considered socialism /s
- plantwallshoe 4y ago
  I do it because it’s a social norm. I’m sure you also do illogical and inefficient things solely because your culture dictates it, weather you realize it or not. And some restaurants are starting to implement a standard service fee, it’s more common at high end restaurants.
- dyno12345 4y ago
  the short answer is for wait service it's customary. this thing where you're now being asked to tip 20%+ for any product or service as long as there's a touchscreen POS terminal is the new thing everyone is getting rankled about.
- vkou 4y ago
  > I don't understand this. Why do you Americans tip for this? Isn't being seated, handed a menu, food brought to the table, and plates being cleared part of a waiter's job? 1. Because nobody you'd want waiting a table wants to be a waiter for minimum wage. 2. And because restaurants don't want to pay waiters more than minimum wage on slow nights. Your options if you don't like this situation are: 1. A ~20% price hike in the cost of your food. 2. Significantly worse service. 3. Significantly limited hours. Pick two.
undersuit 4y ago
Yeah, the thing I'm most often paying for that I would tip for is my 12oz double-shot Americano. Usually between $2-$4, but I feel stingy giving the servers quarters, so it's always $1 tip.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
Scottn1 4y ago
>Full waiter experience (seated, handed menu, food brought to table, plate cleared) gets 20%. If the level of service is less than that, the percentage starts to go down proportionally. I have implemented the same policy of 20% BUT with strict process to make sure it isn't 20% of the full bill: 1) I tip 20% on the Sub-Total amount after subtracting all alcohol (see #2). I am not tipping 20% on the sales tax as well. So don't make a common mistake and tip on the total, go with sub-total. 2) Subtract alcohol from sub-total, calculate 20% on that new sub-total and then I add $1-2 MAX per drink or $5 for a bottle. With the price gouging on alcohol at restaurants/bars (particularly wine - which they literally charge for a glass what a full bottle costs in the store) I refuse to tip 20% of their inflated prices. Sometimes wife and I can have 3-4 drinks total at a long dinner and can be like $50-100 just on alcohol. No WAY I am over-tipping our waiter $20 to walk the drinks over to our table. This process drives my wife crazy sometimes and she calls me cheap, but just flat out giving 20% on the full total of the bill is over-tipping. Steakhouses drive me nuts too because they can be very expensive and 20% tip on the full total could be $60! That is just dumb for someone performing the same job at Applebees of taking order and bringing food/drinks to table.

tptacek 4y ago

If the level of service declines below "full waiter experience", likely so too do the prices.

pclmulqdq 4y ago
And so should the tips. It makes no sense to tip someone who just hands you something from behind a counter.
- tptacek 4y ago
  That's my point: as the price declines, so too does the amount you pay in tips.
  - pclmulqdq 4y ago
    I also think the proportion of the tip should decline. They are doing a lot less work to give you the food, disproportionate with the small decrease in cost.
    - tptacek 4y ago
      It's not clear to me why the proportion should decline alongside the price, since the decline in price also reduces compensation to the server, and a single prevailing tip rate is more convenient to consumers than a floating rate, but I don't care enough to make a stink about it.
paraph1n 4y ago
This is not generally true in my experience. You can buy cheap take-out/counter-service food, or expensive take-out/counter-service food.
seizethecheese 4y ago
There’s significant overlap between counter service and sit down restaurant prices. The front of house labor is not a massive proportion of restaurant cost.
bcrosby95 4y ago
Pretty much every place I've eaten at will do takeout. Back when I lived in SF, I ordered a $60 takeout steak dinner once or twice. I usually still tip for these because it's tying up the kitchen for the in-restaurant diners which might slow down the service for the staff. But not the full 20%.

delta_p_delta_x 4y ago

> Full waiter experience (seated, handed menu, food brought to table, plate cleared) gets 20%. I don't understand this. Why do you Americans tip for this? Isn't being seated, handed a menu, food brought to the table, and plates being cleared part of a waiter's job? Why does the customer have to 'reward' waiters for doing 'a good job'? Why do restaurants not just drop a flat 10% service/cover charge (it's 10% where I am) and be done with it?

barbazoo 4y ago
I think that would be considered socialism /s
plantwallshoe 4y ago
I do it because it’s a social norm. I’m sure you also do illogical and inefficient things solely because your culture dictates it, weather you realize it or not. And some restaurants are starting to implement a standard service fee, it’s more common at high end restaurants.
dyno12345 4y ago
the short answer is for wait service it's customary. this thing where you're now being asked to tip 20%+ for any product or service as long as there's a touchscreen POS terminal is the new thing everyone is getting rankled about.
vkou 4y ago
> I don't understand this. Why do you Americans tip for this? Isn't being seated, handed a menu, food brought to the table, and plates being cleared part of a waiter's job? 1. Because nobody you'd want waiting a table wants to be a waiter for minimum wage. 2. And because restaurants don't want to pay waiters more than minimum wage on slow nights. Your options if you don't like this situation are: 1. A ~20% price hike in the cost of your food. 2. Significantly worse service. 3. Significantly limited hours. Pick two.

undersuit 4y ago

Yeah, the thing I'm most often paying for that I would tip for is my 12oz double-shot Americano. Usually between $2-$4, but I feel stingy giving the servers quarters, so it's always $1 tip.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

Scottn1 4y ago

>Full waiter experience (seated, handed menu, food brought to table, plate cleared) gets 20%. If the level of service is less than that, the percentage starts to go down proportionally. I have implemented the same policy of 20% BUT with strict process to make sure it isn't 20% of the full bill: 1) I tip 20% on the Sub-Total amount after subtracting all alcohol (see #2). I am not tipping 20% on the sales tax as well. So don't make a common mistake and tip on the total, go with sub-total. 2) Subtract alcohol from sub-total, calculate 20% on that new sub-total and then I add $1-2 MAX per drink or $5 for a bottle. With the price gouging on alcohol at restaurants/bars (particularly wine - which they literally charge for a glass what a full bottle costs in the store) I refuse to tip 20% of their inflated prices. Sometimes wife and I can have 3-4 drinks total at a long dinner and can be like $50-100 just on alcohol. No WAY I am over-tipping our waiter $20 to walk the drinks over to our table. This process drives my wife crazy sometimes and she calls me cheap, but just flat out giving 20% on the full total of the bill is over-tipping. Steakhouses drive me nuts too because they can be very expensive and 20% tip on the full total could be $60! That is just dumb for someone performing the same job at Applebees of taking order and bringing food/drinks to table.